Hindu Rituals - Introduction (Part 1 of 23)

Introduction

Hinduism is not a religion but a way of life. Unlike other religions, Hindu dharma has many specialties. This is not known as a religion, it is known as the dharma; Sanaathana Dharma. Sanaathana means, according to Bhagavath Geetha, which cannot be destroyed by fire, weapons, water, air, and which is present in all living and non living being. Dharma means, the way of life which is the ‘total of all aachaaraas or customs and rituals’.

Sanaathana Dharma has its foundation on scientific spirituality. In the entire ancient Hindu literature we can see that science and spirituality are integrated. It is mentioned in the 40th chapter of the Yajurveda known as Eesaavaasya Upanishad that use scientific knowledge for solving problems in our life and use the spiritual knowledge for attaining immortality through philosophical outlook.

Remember that in each and every aachaaraa there will be a component of spirituality in it. Without spirituality, nothing exists in Sanaathana dharma. Generally everyone bear a wrong impression that this spirituality is religion. Spirituality is different in Hindu dharma. Here the question of religion does not exist at all, because Hindu dharma was not created by an individual, prophet or an incarnation. Spirituality is a part of every Hindu custom in the normal life of a Hindu.

Aachaaraas are to be followed based on their merits available from the self experience; you need not blindly follow a teacher or someone who gives advice without reasoning. All these aachaaraas are mentioned for the prosperity of the human beings and it should be the prime focus for practicing the Hindu aachaaraas.

Achaaryaath paadam aadatthe paadam sishya swamedhayaa

paadam sa brahmachaaribhya sesham kaala kramena cha

This is an important advice given in smruthies. It means a person can get only one quarter of knowledge from Achaarya - the teacher, another quarter by analyzing self, one quarter by discussing with others and the last quarter during the process of living by method addition, deletion, correction, and modification of already known aachaaraas or new aachaaraas.

Aachaaraath labhathe hi ayu: aachaaraath dhanamakshayam

aachaaraath labhathe suprajaa: aachaaro ahanthya lakshanam

Aachaaraas are followed for the psychological and physiological health and long life; Aachaaraas are followed for prosperity and wealth; Aachaaraas are followed for strong family and social bondage and following the Aachaaraas give a fine personality, dharmic outlook and vision, says our dharmasaastra.

In India everyone followed Aachaaraas for the above mentioned psychological, physiological, family relation, social benefits and national integration based benefits. It is your right and duty to understand scientifically, rationally and logically the meaning of each and every Aachaaraas and follow the same in your life systematically.

Thank you, Readers

JS

ps. Article by Swami Chinmayananda. There will be an article everyday for next 21 days on Hindu Rituals. Follow the blog.

Pemilik NPWP bebas bea fiskal

Pemilik NPWP Bebas Bea Fiskal
Singapura dan Malaysia Sudah Lama
Senin, 23 Juni 2008 | 01:06 WIB

Jakarta, Kompas - Kabar gembira bagi pemilik nomor pokok wajib pajak atau NPWP. Mulai tahun 2009, semua calon penumpang penerbangan atau pelayaran menuju ke luar negeri akan dibebaskan dari kewajiban membayar biaya fiskal jika menunjukkan bukti kepemilikan NPWP.

Kebijakan ini diterapkan karena pemerintah dan DPR ingin mendorong orang untuk memiliki NPWP sehingga jumlah pembayar pajak di dalam negeri akan semakin banyak.

Hal itu merupakan keputusan Rapat Panitia Kerja Rancangan Undang-Undang Pajak Penghasilan (RUU PPh) yang terdiri atas wakil dari 10 fraksi di DPR serta pemerintah.

Keputusan tersebut diungkapkan Ketua Panitia Khusus Paket RUU Perpajakan Melchias Markus Mekeng di Jakarta, Minggu (22/6).

Saat ini semua penumpang pesawat terbang atau pelayaran internasional yang berangkat dari bandar udara atau pelabuhan internasional di Indonesia wajib membayar biaya fiskal Rp 1 juta per orang. Ini merupakan salah satu sumber penerimaan negara bukan pajak bagi pemerintah.

Dengan adanya keputusan Panitia Kerja RUU PPh itu, semua penumpang yang berusia 21 tahun ke atas wajib membayar fiskal kecuali yang bersangkutan bisa menunjukkan NPWP.

Jika ada anak atau istri yang hendak bepergian ke luar negeri, mereka bisa bebas fiskal asal menunjukkan NPWP ayah atau suami. Hal itu dimungkinkan karena Indonesia menganut prinsip satu NPWP dalam satu keluarga.

"Namun, jika penumpang itu sudah berusia 21 tahun ke atas dan tidak memiliki NPWP, dia wajib membayar fiskal yang tarifnya ditetapkan menyusul oleh pemerintah," ujar Melchias.

Tingkatkan daya tarik

Menurut Melchias, kebijakan ini diharapkan dapat meningkatkan daya tarik Indonesia di mata orang asing. Selama ini hanya Indonesia di negara kawasan yang menerapkan kewajiban fiskal, sementara negara-negara tetangga Indonesia , terutama Malaysia dan Singapura, telah membebaskan biaya fiskal sejak lama.

Saat ini jumlah pemilik NPWP efektif atau yang benar-benar memiliki identitas jelas mencapai 6 juta orang. Namun, jumlah wajib pajak badan yang benar-benar membayar pajak baru sebanyak 1,3 juta, sedangkan wajib pajak orang pribadi yang membayar pajak mencapai 1,1 juta orang.

Direktur Jenderal Pajak Darmin Nasution mengatakan, pembebasan bea fiskal dari pemilik NPWP bisa mendorong efektivitas program ekstensifikasi pajak.

Direktur Penyuluhan Pajak Joko Slamet Suryoputro menambahkan, dulu fiskal diberlakukan untuk membatasi orang ke luar negeri. (OIN)

Greetings From NUS singapore..!!

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If you wish to receive hard copies of our programme brochures, please send me your mailing address. I have also attached the 2008 programme calendar for your reference. In the meantime, please contact us if you require more information on any of our programmes.
Regards
Amanda Vanderput